The Resonance of History 119


As Catalonia today fights for its freedom, it should not be forgotten that the current government of Spain are the direct political heirs of Franco and that many of their ministers have personal and family connections to his rule. Rajoy, Spain’s current Prime Minister, started his political career in 1981 by joining the People’s Alliance, a party founded in 1979 and led by 7 of Franco’s ministers to carry on the Francoist legacy. The People’s Alliance became the major component in the now governing People’s Party.

That is the essential background to the extreme Spanish nationalist dislike of freedom for Catalonia, and far right nationalist moves to declare the Catalan referendum illegal.

This is a good day to think of Euan MacColl’s updating of Jamie Foyers, to remember those Scots who fought alongside the Catalans against fascism at the Battle of the Ebro.

Faur distant, faur distant, lies Foyers the brave
Nae tombstone memorial shall hallow his grave
For his bones they lie scattered on the rude soil o Spain
An young Jamie Foyers in battle wis slain

He’s gane frae the shipyaird that stauns on the Clyde
His haimmer lies idle, his tools laid aside
Tae the wide Ebro river young Foyers has gane
Tae fight by the side o the people o Spain

Thair wisnae his equal at wark or at play
He wis strang in the Union till his dying day
He wis grand at the fitbaa, at the dance he wis braw
Young Jamie Foyers wis the flouer o thaim aa

He cam hame frae the shipyaird, took aff his warkin claes
O, A mind the time weill in the lang simmer’s days
He said, “Thinknae lang, lassie, A’ll come back again”
But young Jamie Foyers in battle was slain

In the fight for Belcite, he was aye tae the fore
An he focht at Gandesa till he couldnae fight more
For he lay owre his machine gun wi a bullet in his brain
An young Jamie Foyers in battle was slain

Faur distant, faur distant, lies Foyers the brave
Nae tombstone memorial shall hallow his grave
For his bones they lie scattered on the rude soil o Spain
An young Jamie Foyers in battle was slain

When the BBC was smugly quoting the current Francoist government of Spain as the bar to Scotland’s entry into the EU, I was longing for somebody to give just a little of this historic perspective. But of course, the mainstream media never did.


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119 thoughts on “The Resonance of History

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  • Republicofscotland

    Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz has announced his resignation after sharply criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his extremist policies.

    Peretz formally submitted his resignation to Israeli Justice Minister and Hatnuah party leader Tzipi Livni on Sunday.

    His resignation will go into affect on Tuesday, November 11.

    The announcement comes shortly after Peretz accused the Israeli prime minister of behaving irresponsibly, during a weekly cabinet meeting.

    He said Netanyahu had become a “hostage” of Israel’s “radical right” and had created instability “in all fields — diplomatic, social and financial.”

    “There’s a deep political crisis, economic crisis, social crisis. Benjamin Netanyahu, to my regret, has become a hostage of the radical right,” Peretz said.

    The Israeli minister had earlier said he would not stay with a government that continued in the same direction.
    ______________________________________________

    Finally someone has woken up and smelt the coffee, so to speak, Israel, can no longer enforce their will, around the world, at random. Though no one has told Netanyahu yet.

  • Mary

    Chaos in the ‘Nice’. Theresa and co have decided that there is to be no debate/vote on the European Arrest Warrant et al. Some very angry bunnies eg Jacob Rees Mogg.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Willyrobinson

    “Sure, there’s been pro-Independence parties since the 70s. You could say though, that the whole political landscape changed here in september 2012, and that many of todays independentists were surprised bystanders – normal people – as little as 2 years ago.”
    ___________________

    Thank you for acknowledging my point.

    You may be right when you say the above, you may not be – I’m not sufficiently in touch with this file to say.

    BTW (as a sign of the above) what is the significance of September 2012 in this matter?

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    MJ

    ““Likelihood of ebola being a scam”

    Yes, there are a few things about the current ebola thing that don’t ring quite true.”
    __________________

    For example?

    Don’t be lazy – tell us.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Republicofscotland

    I have noticed something rather peculiar (or amusing, of you prefer).

    It is that whenever I post two or three times within a short time interval, you leap into action with a veritable flurry of posts on this, that and the next thing.

    The last few hours on this thread demonstrate the point perfectly.

    Are the two phenomena linked? If so, I hadn’t realise the extent of my influence on here! 🙂

  • John Goss

    For a start there is my recent article which suggests Ebola was introduced deliberately.

    http://johngossip.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/is-united-states-trying-to-wipe-out.html

    Then there are the vaccines like those being used against tetanus in Africa laced with infertility drugs. And it wasn’t until today that I put two and two together that they intend to immunise Africans eventually when Ebola has taken a significant toll.

    http://www.naturalnews.com/047571_vaccines_sterilization_genocide.html

    All this is probably the work, and you’ll love this Habbabkuk, of the Israeli and other western governments to eliminate black Africans from their continent and take over according to the Bilderberg plans of 2013 in Watford. Their genocide programme has already started using depro provera against black Jews from Ethiopia on their own admission. People who do or recommend this are no better than Nazis.

    https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/israel-admits-forcibly-injecting-ethiopian-jews-with-depo-provera

    It’s a racist scam to make black women infertile.

  • Republicofscotland

    “Are the two phenomena linked? If so, I hadn’t realise the extent of my influence on here!”
    ___________________________________________

    Habb old boy what on earth gave you the idea, that you have influence over anything, period.

    Illusions of grandeur, seem to be wafting around, in that mind of yours, something I’ve suspected for some time now, thanks for confirming it.

  • John Goss

    Furthermore Bill(derberger] Gates has also been illegally testing out vaccines on 16,000 mainly Indian schoolgirls (£ to a penny they are laced with depro provera).

    http://wearechange.org/bill-gates-faces-trial-india-illegally-testing-tribal-children-vaccines/

    Anybody giving their children MMR jabs should think very very carefully about it, especially since Dr Andrew Wakefield who was struck off because his research did not tie in with government desires has now been exonerated. What a world.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mr Goss

    Having another of your “moments”?

    You’re losing it, Big Ears. Listen to Noddy!

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Republicofscotland

    “Habb old boy what on earth gave you the idea, that you have influence over anything, period.

    Illusions of grandeur, seem to be wafting around,”
    _________________

    The idea came from empirical observation, Original Troll*.

    Everytime I post two or three in a row, you break out into a sweat and launch a flurry of absurd posts in a vain attempt to counter mine (I suppose).

    It’s almost Pavlovian.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    (* you still haven’t told us the moniker you used to post under. Why is that, I wonder….)

  • John Goss

    Shaker Aamer has not been reunited with his family and is continually tortured and abused even though he has committed no crime. He cannot come home because if he did it would be evident that the UK secret services are implicit in torture, as he says himself in this disclosure of how the US has totally twisted the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights so it now mean No Rights for Muslims.

    http://www.vice.com/read/the-us-declaration-of-no-human-rights-guantanamo-bay-812

    Now Habbabkuk says he does not believe in torture so will he join me in criticising the US for its torture and abuse? I hope so.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mr Goss

    I ask MJ a question and it is John Goss who replies.

    Are you MJ or just his bedfellow?

  • John Goss

    “Mr Goss

    I ask MJ a question and it is John Goss who replies.”

    Be thankful you got an answer. You can respond. Or get Kempe to do it for you.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mr Goss

    “Shaker Aamer has not been reunited with his family and is continually tortured and abused…

    ________________________

    But obviously not to an extent which prevents him from writing long articles (complete with references and quotations fro legal texts) and getting them out onto the internet (your link refers, Mr Goss)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Now Habbabkuk says he does not believe in torture so will he join me in criticising the US for its torture and abuse? I hope so.”
    ______________

    Your understanding of my position on torture is correct. Why, then, should I make an exception in the case of Mr Aamer – provided always that he has actually been tortured?

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mr Goss

    and, voilà, a second answer “on behalf of” MJ.

    You are the same poster, aren’t you.

  • Kempe

    ” go stuff yourself you troll. He has been exonerated in the eyes of most professionals. ”

    Professional what? Professional conspiracy twerps?

    Like so many anti-vax sites your link claims the mercury based preservative thimerosal, once found in vaccines but phased out in the 1990s, is to blame for autism. Even Wakefield didn’t support this ridiculous claim, mainly because he knew the MMR jab doesn’t contain any thimerosal.

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mr Goss

    Your technique – to divert people away when you’ve been challenged and made a fool of – is revealing.

    To recap:

    – you believe that Ebola was “introduced deliberately”

    – you believe – in respect of vaccines against Ebola – that “this is probably the work of the Israeli and other western governments to eliminate black Africans from their continent and take over according to the Bilderberg plans of 2013 in Watford

    – you believe that Bill Gates is lacing vaccines with a female contraceptive in India.

    You are bonkers, Mr Goss.

  • John Goss

    “Your understanding of my position on torture is correct. Why, then, should I make an exception in the case of Mr Aamer – provided always that he has actually been tortured?”

    Pleased to hear it. Shaker Aamer’s article was almost certainly smuggled out. Guantanamo will be pretty cross about how it got out, if they ever find out.

    As to your bonkers comment you clearly did not read the links. Or do you believe that Bill Gates is not a Bilderberger. Wrong! What was the Bilderberg “African Challenges” session whcih did not include anybody from Black Africa. You are the one who diverts. Read the articles. They were put there for your benefit and edification. Have to go. Sorry.

  • John Goss

    “Professional what? Professional conspiracy twerps?”

    No, wrong again. Medical professionals, the ones who tried to strip a creditable and well-respected doctor, Andrew Wakefield, of his reputation to push their disreputable drugs. As you can see from the Ethiopia link your friends do this. They did it with the syphilis experiments too. Were they conspiracy theories?

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    “Shaker Aamer’s article was almost certainly smuggled out.”
    _________________

    Yup, it almost certainly was.

    Just like his writing materials were almost certainly smuggled in.

    Are you convinced that long article you linked to was really written by him, Mr Goss?

  • Richard

    Catalonia fighting for freedom really is stretching it a bit.

    None of us are totally free, of course, but it is hard to imagine that any of the ways in which Catalans aren’t free will be attenuated by breaking up the Spanish state. The Civil War’s over, Franco’s dead and I doubt if any of them are particularly hard done by.

    Today old Hitchens gives a fairly interesting take on the Spanish Civil War on his blog for those who are interested.

  • doug scorgie

    John Goss,

    The Trolls seem to be in frenzy mode against you.

    However it means they are, at least, giving Mary some respite.

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